Stardew Valley Hearts
by Fields of Fantasy
Summary: When a disillusioned city girl leaves to inherit her grandfather's farm, what changes will ripple across the quiet community of Stardew Valley? Will the seeds of friendship — and love — be sown in this eager springtime?
1. Grey Moments

Click click click. Click click. Click click click click click click.

An ancient trackball mouse fired off in rapid succession. Someone hadn't filled in, well, anything correctly on their paperwork. Sixty-eight out of ninety fields needed corrections.

 _How stupid do you have to be to try bookkeeping without understanding basic math? This is abysmal._

Jay sighed, leaning back in her hard and unwelcoming office chair. It wasn't a nice thing to think about someone… But it was true. A stack of receipts laid to her left. Whomever tackled that task didn't understand much about addition. Or multiplication. Or percentages. The amount of edits she'd have to make made her head spin.

And hurt. Her forehead throbbed with irritation and exhaustion. Late nights and early mornings all week. Just what she was supposed to be avoiding.

 _I should probably ask Denny for some pain medication. He could run a pharmacy right out of his cubicle._ She chuckled internally before wincing at the resultant pang in her temples.

Jay stood up with a sigh, stretching her arms upwards and glancing at the clock. Just under four hours left. Worth making the short trip down the aisle.

She had been working at a Joja office building for the last ten months. It reminded her of a truism that kept getting truer: you die a little every day. The entire building looked like it was designed by a colourblind businessman who hated fun and knew nothing about business or officework.

The architect idolized a strange sense of perfection; the cubicles were exact squares, not an inch or lip out of place. You could put a lid on them and trap people inside a perfect cube. Like lab rats. The building was a lot like a maze, anyway. The desks were made out of some unidentifiable material akin to plastic and were crisply cut on all of their edges into fine and _sharp_ lines. Most office injuries involved carpal tunnel syndrome; the other half surely included people who had made the mistake of resting their arms on these unholy workspaces.

Furthermore, everything was gray. Shockingly gray, until your eyes finally stopped recognizing gray as a colour or shade. The desks were gray. The floors were gray. The light fixtures were gray, though the light they output was white. Something about not wanting people to go blind on the job. The effect was that each moment in the building was spent staring into nothingness. It was, coincidentally, a great way to describe her work.

Oddly enough, for a place that was so bent on conformity and strange geometric standards, everything was steeped in filth and ruin. The computer equipment alone could trigger a biohazard incident; the cafeteria was a study in microorganism growth. Several coworkers had plotted an expedition into the bathroom corridor. Jay hadn't seen them in weeks. Small cracks sprawled across every wall; some hairline fractures were much more difficult to spot, spreading throughout the building like a weed. She sometimes envisioned pumping a rainbow of paint through the creeping lines and watching the walls alight with colour. Too bad she wasn't on a rainbow of pills like Denny. She could live that dream — with the aid of some psychotropics.

Jay strolled past cubicles, walking straight past Denny's to the drink machine. Denny was generous, sure, but she bet he'd appreciate a Joja Cola in return for the painkiller. If he wasn't on his fifth can yet, she could definitely curry his favour.

She reached the drink machine which had the characteristic dark blue splash of Joja's logo. Joja products faintly disgusted her in both taste, appearance, and branding, so she picked the can with the highest caffeine and sugar content. That was her best bet.

Above her head were two giant glass semispheres, another exception to the rule of gray. The green light, labeled REST was unlit. The red light, labeled WORK glared at her in an angry, yet sufficiently smug shade. It reminded her of Mark, somehow.

Jay looked up at the window to her left.

 _Ah. It's because Mark is_ _ **right there**_ _._

From one of the two windows, a man in a business suit leered. His name was Mark, and he was a successful earner of six digits, yearly. He had a very "talented" girlfriend. His car had a butler. He was rich enough to buy a pony made out of diamonds. Jay disliked him for a variety of reasons, but one exchange had soured her opinion of him considerably.

Once, when she was two minutes late to work, Mark had told her that he'd "let it slide" if she got dinner with him. Which she, of course, would buy. She turned him down. He immediately submitted a report on her tardiness that got her scolded by two supervisors and her manager. She didn't have an excuse for being late, but after six months of being prompt, the reprimand seemed harsh. Still, she tried not to let her seething anger get the better of her. Mark wasn't the worst.

She took another look at Mark. He was far away, his motions difficult to read.

Mark took his hands out of his pocket. Next, he… Was he injured? He kept crossing one hand over his wrist and patting it. Ah, that's it. He was tapping his watch.

She changed her mind.

He _was_ the worst.

Technically, they were allowed a seven minute "personal" break each shift. Painkillers to get through the rest of her shift definitely counted towards that.

Mark continued to stare at her until she started moving.

 _Asshole._

She walked past Stephanie's cubicle. Stephanie was a wonder woman in pink exercise gear. Customers loved her; management loved her even more. Jay wasn't sure if Stephanie was a mother, but the occasional crayon-y piece would make its way onto her desk along with a protein shake. She really liked Stephanie and her finesse in dealing with people. A real ray of light in the workplace.

She passed Pete's cubicle. Pete was staring deep into his monitor. Closer inspection revealed a beach bathed in lilac sunset. He looked like a thirsty man who had seen water for the first time in weeks. She couldn't blame him for wanting to see something colourful.

Wait… Wasn't that dock a bit familiar? A wooden shack on the pier..? Pete was glazed like a donut, so she had no way of asking him about the locale. She stashed the image in the back of her mind for later.

Finally, she reached Denny's desk. Denny was a great guy — maybe the closest thing she had to a friend aside from Stephanie. He was also heavily self-medicated at all times, no exceptions. Three empty Joja Cola cans were strewn about his desk; she counted five or six pill bottles, plus a handful of bright green tablets scattered at his right. She had once asked Denny if he was happy being on so much medication: he looked somber for a moment, before he broke out into a manic grin, saying that it was the only way to get through his day. There were no contraindications that Jay or her doctor knew about. Denny would be fine. In theory.

Jay tapped on Denny's cubicle.

"Hey man. Brought you something. I was wondering if I could get some painkillers off of you? My head is killing me."

Denny turned slowly, his head lolling as he swiveled his chair.

"Whhhyyyyyyyyy yes you can!" Denny whipped open the bottom drawer of his desk and began rattling off his repertoire as he piled bottles on his desk. Drugs appeared by the fistful.

"I've got Tylunol, Vicodyn, Advel, Alyve, Anaprix, Anicin, Athynol…"

Jay was fairly certain that Denny had a degree in chemistry, so using the alphabetized brand names were for her benefit. She glanced at the pills. They might have been organized by dosage or remaining quantity, but they certainly weren't alphabetized like the list he was reciting. Denny was in the wrong line of work — she was sure of it.

 _He could probably do pharmacy. Or deal drugs. Maybe marijuana or something? Cook meth? Nah. That's too evil. Pharmacy all the way._

"Something extra-strength would be great," she interrupted, "I just need to get through the rest of my shift."

"Mmm!" Denny hummed his assent, his hand shooting deftly into the tumbling pile to grab an unseen bottle near the bottom. He tossed it to her.

She caught it, and turned to the label.

Extra-strength Tylunol, just like she'd asked for. This guy was a pill wizard. She fiddled with the cap and popped a single tablet into her mouth. It was dry and difficult to swallow.

"Thanks. Here." She placed the Joja Cola near the stack of empties. "Hope you like that flavor."

In one smooth motion, Denny opened the can and took a swift draft.

"I like them all!" He assured with a smile.

Jay smiled back.

Denny would have been quite handsome, if he didn't have such a manic disposition. His eyes had drooping dark circles that threatened to overtake his cheekbones. His light brown hair was rod straight, and his lips were dry from constant licking — probably a side effect of his medication, but she couldn't be too sure. Despite his tired looks, he was a perpetual source of energy. The man looked half-dead, but you certainly couldn't tell from his disposition. It was discordant beyond reckoning.

Not her type, but a great guy nonetheless.

"Well, I'm going to get back to it. Thanks again; I feel a lot better." She moved to put the Tylunol among the pile.

"Nah, you keep it. I think you'll be needing it more than I do!"

He wasn't wrong, judging from the mound on his desk.

"Are you sure?"

"Ab-so-lutely!" Denny said as he began sorting and stacking his stash.

"You da bess," Jay remarked over her shoulder as she walked away, giving the bottle a swift shake.

Her desk was suddenly in front of her. Funny, since she didn't even remember walking down the hall.

Jay tumbled sloppily into her chair. She'd only been gone for two minutes, according to her clock. Another four hours to go.

Work work work.

She hammered through the receipts with as much gusto as she could muster. The hammering in her head decreased with each audit. It was far from painless, though, so she took another tablet.

A frustrated sigh escaped her when she realized that only fifteen minutes had passed.

Jay slid a squeaking drawer open to put away the remaining Tylunol.

 _Hmm?_

A yellowed envelope laid at the bottom, sealed with a dark purple blob of wax and a seal she didn't recognize.

 _What was this from, again..?_


	2. Electrons Dance in Colour

Jay turned over the envelope in her hands. The front was blank, no name or address.

Why would she have kept this in her desk? It looked valuable. Not a prop, from the look of that unbroken purple seal. Was it a T or a J inscribed in thick cursive? She couldn't tell. Maybe the symbol wasn't that important.

 _Is this even mine..? I can't quite…_

In less than a second, it rushed back to her.

Years ago, Jay had been at her grandfather's bedside in the country. Her family had returned to see him weak and weary in his home. In the lulls between hushed conversations, her child eyes had wandered curiously about the room. The bister wood floors of her grandfather's house never changed, but he had thrown up an ornate wallpaper featuring magenta sweetpeas. Jay thought they might be tasty if she licked them, but her parents quickly dissuaded her from testing that theory. A cozy fire crackled in a brick fireplace; above which, a mounted saber gleamed unused but resplendent. On the mantle, she remembered a picture of her cheerful grandmother — the last they'd ever taken of her. And next to that, a small plush creature that looked like a jelly cup with a dandelion hat. She wanted to press it against her face and see if it was soft. Her grandfather's house was familiar, yet exotic.

Jay's grandfather called her. She wandered over obediently. He wore his green pajamas and nightcap day and night, nestled comfortably in a simple bed. She thought he looked like Santa, but with the wrong colours. Her grandpa was better than Santa anyways. He was warm and kind. Whenever she had visited him with her parents, he had taken the time to describe the intricacies of farming life. She loved learning from him and being spoken to as an adult. At his age, it was difficult to maintain the farm. He planned to let the fields go fallow until his strength returned. After that, he said, he would teach her everything else about the farm and the changing seasons.

Jay loved her grandfather dearly. She waited patiently for his wrinkled hands to lift from his bedside, quivering as they raised something made of paper.

"I want you to have this sealed envelope." Jay took the foreign rectangle of paper. She knew it was a letter. She didn't know much about death, but understood the solemnity of his tone. Her fingers automatically flew to the seal, prodding the edges and trying to lift the flap.

"No, no, don't open it yet… have patience."

Jay's memory was foggy, trying to recall her grandfather's words from over two decades ago.

"Crushed by the burden of modern life… Bright spirit fading before a growing emptiness…"

Her memory really dropped the ball when it came to those final sentences. Perhaps it was because she was trying to memorize the details of her beloved grandfather's face instead of truly hearing his words.

Her grandfather's lidded eyes flickered, struggling to stay open. The twitching at the corners of his lips suggested the start of a knowing smile.

"When that happens, my dear, you'll be ready for this gift…"

Jay reached around as carefully as she could, delicately dropping the letter onto a nearby table. Or not so delicately, as she knocked over several pieces of stationery.

She ignored it, immediately folding her small hands over her grandfather's.

His eyes twinkled before closing. He needed to rest.

It was one of the last times she would ever see him.

Jay snapped back to the present with a start.

 _How could I forget something… So important to me? Grandpa…_

Jay was overwhelmed by the remembered affection and heartache. A lot had happened in the last couple of years, but… Forgetting her grandfather? Forgetting the letter that he'd left to her..? She could hardly believe how careless she had been with his final gift. Anything could have happened to it! She cursed her absentmindedness.

Having berated herself, she wasted no time lifting the seal and pulling out the letter within.

She recognized her grandfather's thick handwriting, painstakingly neat despite the muscle spasms and arthritis that plagued him in his later years. This letter was obviously a labour of love. She began to read the words, eager but bittersweet.

"Dear Jay,

If you're reading this, you must be in dire need of a change.

The same thing happened to me, long ago. I'd lost sight of what mattered most in life… real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong.

I've enclosed the deed to that place… my pride and joy: Starlight Farm. It's located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It's the perfect place to start your new life.

This was my most precious gift of all, and now it's yours. I know you'll honor the family name, my girl. Good luck.

Love, Grandpa

P.S. If Lewis is still alive say hi to the old guy for me, will ya?"

Jay paused for a moment. She rummaged around in the envelope and found the deed tightly folded at the bottom. It was perhaps the size of a ten dollar bill, fully unfolded. She expected it to be bigger.

For a moment, she reveled in the possibilities. Her memories of Stardew Valley were faint, but not faded. A walk with her grandfather along a forest path ablaze with autumn shades. Mountains carpeted in thick green streaming past on the car ride. A secluded pond in mauve twilight, a symphony of crickets chirping an aria into the whispering forest breeze. _That_ was an evening to remember…

The colour, more than anything, triggered another flash of memories.

Fresh-cut lavender arranged on her grandmother's lap. Purple wallpapers that cycled regularly through her grandfather's house. A chocolate with a milky violet centre. A pier—

The pier.

 _Of course..! I remember now! Grandpa took me down to the beach. There was a small shack on the shore, and a shack on the pier. A fisherman lived there. Of course…_

Jay exhaled deeply, awash in the revelation. Stardew Valley had been calling to her all along. With her grandfather's deed, she wouldn't have to worry about living expenses, something that was always gnawing at the back of her mind in the city.

The finances of it were important, of course, but the possibilities… She could become a farmer, just like her grandfather. She could escape her tiny apartment and the gloom of working at Joja. Those shining possibilities were worth whatever expense she could spare.

Jay ran her hands through her hair, pushing calculations through her head at light speed. The move would cost her almost nothing. However, the cost of starting a farm, unused for many years — that demanded a significant investment. Research was required. She estimated about 500 gold for startup expenses, plus a 100 gold reserve fund.

 _Stardew Valley… I want to go back._

With that in mind, Jay opened a word processor. In less than two minutes, she drafted her two week notice. It was printed, signed, and on her supervisor's desk within the hour.

It was surreal. Each moment was vivid, but instantly forgotten. Her mind buzzed with myriad ideas that flickered in and out of existence like fireflies. The more she clamped on to one idea, the more another would press into her mind. Trying to filter the infinite wave was equally pointless. Heisenberg's uncertainty principle came to mind — before it was replaced by thoughts of countryside evenings.

 _Do they have internet there? I bet they do. That would be just perfect._

Jay was back in her cubicle, deep in thought. Two hours left on the clock. She worked — but mechanically. She clicked boxes and made corrections with haphazard flicks of her wrist. Not like she really needed any reference from here, if she was going to become a farmer. Did Joja even allow for references? The call centre she'd worked at prior didn't give out references, period.

She stared absently at a blinking red LED.

Most employees at Joja were too depressed to ever look upwards; thus, most employees didn't even notice the cameras that pointed down into each individual cubicle. Creepy. Jay was fairly certain that Mark probably pulled the tapes and watched him for his amusement.

Yup. She was definitely going to flip him off on her last day. What a _bonus_.

Suddenly, her shift was over.

 _ **Finally**_ _._

Jay grabbed her things, and bolted out into the night.


	3. Reflection

It was nearly 3 AM by the time Jay sprung into her apartment. Late shifts. The worst.

There was hardly a moment to waste on that, however, as her eyes roamed greedily over the minimalist décor of the entryway. Her coat was thrown off; keys were probably somewhere on the rack.

 _Packing is going to be so_ _ **easy**_ _. Let's see… All of the furniture came with the apartment, so I don't need to haul anything large with me. I'll bring… The kettle._

A pointed look at the well-used appliance. It was used on a daily basis. Hourly, if she was working on something. It heated up water faster than her microwave could, which defied all she knew about thermodynamics. It was a lean mean steam machine powered by a throbbing 230 volts. This was the crème de la crème of kettlekind. The ultimate in both kitchen and mood-altering technology. No other way she was going to get her tea fix.

" _My baby_ ," she cooed in a whisper, giving the handle a loving caress.

 _Is this weird?_

 _. . ._

 _Nah._

"Oh, almost forgot," Jay said to herself. She rummaged through her bag and tossed two pills, one pink and one green into her mouth.

 _Now…_

Jay scanned through the living room in less than a second. On her hourly wage, the best she could afford was a living room that was the size of a bathroom. The bathroom was actually a tiled kiddie pool having an identity crisis. Knocked knees and poor ergonomics were nothing compared to a shower head that didn't _really_ spray near her head. Plus side: her upper back was certified fresh every day.

Jay glanced around. A rug. A reusable laminated calendar. A music stand. All very cheap to move.

There were some succulents sitting on the windowsill. Shockingly, she hadn't managed to kill them with neglect or overindulgence. Except for one. Poor Vera. Jay had once run out of all viable foods for two days. Aloe vera might be healthy, maybe even palatable when the gel was blended down to nothing in a smoothie —but it sure as hell wasn't delicious when raw. The gel was bitter, and she _hated_ bitter things. That day, she learned a valuable lesson: succulent did not equal delicious.

 _Hmm hmm. Not too much to pack. Nothing really in the bathroom. Two towels and toiletries. Nothing in the closet aside from my violin and guitar. Some boots. Man, when am I ever going to use those_ _ **boots**_ _..?_

 _When I'm a big-time farmer, aww yeeeeeah._

Jay inspected her bedroom. Her computer desk looked like a warzone. It wouldn't take too long to tidy though. A handful of unsold textbooks lay dormant in the drawers; pencils, pens, and notebooks had long since colonized the surface. Knowledge was buried deep beneath the humdrum necessities of everyday life; two worlds that no longer collided.

 _Time for a cultural exchange!_

She swept the desktop into a drawer and promptly closed it.

 _Messy, yet satisfying._

Jay thought about anything else that she'd have to clean before leaving.

The floors were very clean. She had invested in an upper-end vacuum that was lightweight and sucked harder than Mark's girlfriend. Heh. Heheh.

The fridge and pantry were close to empty; she wouldn't have to worry about excess food by any stretch of the imagination.

It would probably take less than a day to get everything done, and she had another two weeks at Joja.

 _Two weeks to savour the flavor. Lucky me._

Jay wandered over slowly to the bathroom. What better way to end a day than with a nice hot shower? Since she lived alone, she never closed the bathroom door, which helped in preventing water damage.

She stripped down out of her white dress shirt and blue silk tie, casting them to the ground. Formal black pants were next, followed by a plain beige bra and underwear. The set was a department store find; cheap and comfortable. Jay thought they looked _alright_ at least. Function over form, every time.

She stared levelly into the large bathroom mirror.

Jay wouldn't have described herself as beautiful, even with her maybe slightly unflattering clothes pooled on the floor around her. Large thighs. A waist that would never look thin regardless of lifestyle. Shoulders that were too broad to ever suggest daintiness. A light coating of fat on the underside of her arms. An average body for a woman of 23, she was sure, and fine on anyone else — just not her.

Her hair and eyes were a boring dark brown. So dark that her pupils almost blended into her irises, but not quite. Her eyebrows were constantly unkempt, wide but not full. Her impossibly thick, yet close-cut head of hair seemed to compensate for that. No matter what she tried, her hair was in a perpetual state of disorder. It must have been an airport in a previous life, because she had flyaways for _days_. Some girls could pull off a tousled look. She could cosplay as a bird nest. That was something.

She thought her eyes were drawn too close together; her cheeks were too childish; her mouth small and uninteresting. At least her glasses with their thick frames and black gloss could add some interest to her face. However, they always seemed to block out her features: she was frequently mistaken for a man with her cropped hair and unseen eyes.

Jay rubbed the back of her hand over her forehead, which was greasy, and her cheeks, which were papery dry. Her nose was a foregone conclusion of black heads and wide nostrils. She was not a beauty. She'd never contest it.

Despite that, she had come to terms with her appearance. She was comfortable with her looks and where they placed her in the world. After all, there were more important things than aesthetics.

She showered and went straight to bed.


	4. Escape from the City

Jay expected the next two weeks to be agonizing. To her surprise, they were anything but. Stephanie passed around a going-away card for Jay to open — later. Denny congratulated her with a box of tea and a small blotting paper. It was probably homebrewed LSD, and knowing Denny, _way_ too potent for her to ever try. She kept it anyway.

Her eight hour shifts were filled with equal parts planning and fantasy. There was a lot to learn before she left. Would two decades of being fallow replenish the fields, or would they need fertilization? How would she water the crops? What was the climate like in Stardew Valley? She felt, in a way, overwhelmed by the amount she had to learn in two weeks. Perfection was unattainable in real life, sure, but the pursuit of perfection was something she knew intimately. She wanted to hit the ground running, backing up growing experience with a broad knowledgebase.

 **. . . . . . . . . .**

And, just like that, it was her last day.

She worked until the last two hours of her shift. It took a painstaking hour with HR to cleanse her name from the employee roster and convince them that yes, she was definitely going to leave, and no, she was definitely not going to be "joining and thriving" with them ever again.

Temptation and excitement came to a head in the final hour. It was the final countdown.

Jay strode over to Mark's office, taking a string of staircases and wrong turns along the way.

She rapped on the door, which had his name etched into the frosted glass.

"Come in!" someone called from inside. He was important enough for a fancy door, but not enough to merit a secretary.

Mark was sitting behind his big-shot desk that looked like it was made of actual wood. There were no papers in sight; Jay could faintly make out a pink glow from his computer monitor, which was turned away from her. She wasn't keeping him from the good fight, then.

Mark looked puzzled. Then smug.

 _You look dumb either way, man._

"Come to ask for something before you leave, hmm?" Mark leaned back with a smirk. It was supposed to be a show of power or influence, she guessed, but it gave off the appearance of bad posture.

"Mark. Why would I even ask that. I mean, really."

The puzzled look returned.

"Well, what **are** you here for?"

"It's very important, Mark. Maybe the most important thing I've ever done working at Joja." Her tone was impudent, playful.

She waited, trying to throw him off balance.

"… What is it?" Mark affected an air of very important boredom.

"You see Mark, I've come to deliver a message," she said with a cheeky grin.

Impatience flit across his face as he leaned forward with a frown.

"Get on with it!" he snapped.

"Alright. Okay. I can see that you've got _important_ things to do, so I'll make this brief."

She pulled out her phone. It had been primed for this one moment. She tapped a button.

Very loud, very _annoying_ music burst through the tiny speakers. An incredibly fast rhythm paired with high-pitch bubblegum pop melodies was just the thing.

Mark looked very confused.

 _Excellent._

Jay made a fist with her right hand. Her middle finger sprung up to greet Mark. The bridge was coming up. She was bouncing along to the beat, cheesing her way through the one dance move she truly knew: the sprinkler.

 _Actually, this is probably dabbing or whatever it's called, but... Rolling with it._

Mark was absolutely flabbergasted at this turn of events. _**Score**_ **.**

She whipped out middle finger numero dos for the dual wield, pumping her outstretched fists in the air. This was a sugary-sweet dance of _vengeance_. The final chorus ended with a dramatic pose and her laughing.

 _Heh. Fuck this guy. And this job._

Mark laughed too, though he attempted to recover with a series of awkward coughs.

That was a surprise — but alright by her standards. Maybe some humour could dislodge the giant stick up his ass.

She definitely felt better. The whole thing was ridiculous and rude and childish and she loved it.

 _Embrace your inner child. Or asshole. Or both._

In a lightning-fast pivot, she got behind his desk to sneak a peek at his monitor. As she expected. Wildly inappropriate content for the workplace.

 _Nice boobs though._

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" Mark sputtered angrily, closing his browser as quickly as possible. Sweat and discomfort radiated off of him. He knew that she knew— and that she could exploit it.

Jay acted in the moment without thinking. She didn't have a plan. Her curiosity just got the better of her. Could she press this into an advantage?

"Hmmmm," she mused evilly, "What _am_ I doing?"

Mark was a douchebag, but she wasn't going to do anything cruel. Maybe something to leave her coworkers better off?

 _I mean, porn in the workplace, come on. But I don't really care, so..._

"Denny, Stephanie, and Pete all get 20 minute personal breaks every shift."

"I can't do that!"

"Okay then, Mister I-Control-Your-Entire-Job, I can't _possibly_ let this misconduct slide." Jay was trying to keep her face poker straight. It probably wasn't working.

Mark said nothing. He was wringing his hands and fidgeting.

 _This is new. I'm a huge jerk for enjoying this as much as I am._

"Welp. Guess I'd better head over to HR and tell them all about this," she declared, walking to the door.

"Wait! Wait…" Mark gave a frustrated sigh, "I'll do it. Don't tell anyone."

"Great," she smiled at him, "They're star employees anyways. Might even increase their productivity."

Jay sobered up for a moment. It was important to give off an air of sincerity with what she planned to say.

"Hey Mark? Look, I still think you're kind of… Well, you're a douchebag. **But.** I hope you can get your act together. There's someone alright in there. Good luck man." She nodded once and left.

"Close the door!"

She rolled her eyes and went back to shut the door.

Leaving the building, she had her farewells with everyone. Denny, Stephanie, and Pete all received her email address. She hoped they would be able to find better work.

Jay stood before the doors and, for the last time, gazed into the tenebrous prison of Joja.

She pressed through, into the sunlight.

 **. . . . . . . . . .**

Everything was ready. An overlarge camping backpack contained her entire life, sans her violin and guitar. They were riding coach with her.

A single bus traveled across the country once a week, making stops in Zuzu City and small ocean townships along the Gem Sea. It was this bus, arriving at 5 PM tonight, that would take her to Stardew Valley.

She arrived at the bus stop about 40 minutes early. Just in case.

The bus was finally rolling in, an old white tube of dreams. Its doors swung open before her.

Jay looked up at the bus driver as she stepped onboard. He was handsome, even with wide streaks of grey dashing through his hairline. Maybe it had something to do with the crisply-pressed work shirt. She was a sucker for ironed uniforms.

"Pelican Town, right?" She must have looked like a tourist.

"Yes. I'm moving there in time for spring." Jay stepped on board and swiped her ticket into the fare reader, relieved to hear the affirming beep. A little pre-trip anxiety, she guessed.

The driver grunted in response, slowly starting the bus.

Her heart pounded with a deeply resonating excitement. She was finally leaving the city, watching overpasses and skyscrapers fly past.

 _And so begins a three day road trip._


	5. Welcome to Cloud Country

The next three days were dreamlike.

In theory, spending three days between buses and brief layovers should have been a tiresome, tedious experience.

In practice?

Jay _loved_ the whole venture.

Her eyes were glued to the windows, since she'd made a point of reserving window seats at every interval, and she closed them only when she could stay awake no longer.

The route she was taking to Stardew Valley was scenic and diverse. One day, she'd pass by cities glimmering on the ocean, slate-gray skyscrapers reaching into fluffy white clouds. The next, kilometres of mountains and deciduous forest, trickling waterfalls cascading like hidden gifts over rocky screes and mossy pools.

She noticed changes in the sky and flora as she got closer to Stardew. There was less haze and the flowers seemed to become brighter as they neared the coast.

. . . . . . . . . .

The first major layover was two hours in Alessia City, a haven for travelers and discerning gourmets alike. Jay spent a good ten minutes on her phone trying to decide on what local cuisine she'd sample. She flicked through pages of pictures. Mouthwatering croquettes, steam rising off the crisped brown exterior. Delicate and exquisite gelatos, made from only the freshest, most exotic ingredients. Lamysian hotpot with ginger-infused broth, homemade noodles, and dark leafy greens.

She had two hours to consume the best culinary options.

 _This might be toughest, most important decision of my entire life._

A frown of deep concentration formed: discipline and the desire to eat everything battled within her.

 _Ah, fuck it. EAT IT ALL, I SAY._ _ **EAT IT ALLLL!**_

Jay hopped between the three restaurants that interested her most, eating as she went. The croquettes were potato and brie cheese — an unusual but delectable combination. The steaming-hot bites vanished into her mouth before she could make it to the gelato place, where she picked up a pistachio gelato with a raspberry puree and fresh-whipped cream.

It looked like something straight from the pages of a foodie magazine. Jay lifted the spoon with trepidation, steeling her heart. She then plunged straight into the silken center of the bowl and scooped a hearty spoonful into her waiting mouth.

Instant gratification.

 _Mmmmmm. This is probably what heaven tastes like,_ Jay thought dreamily, letting the nutty and fruity notes wash over her tongue. A hint of tang from the raspberries was balanced by the smooth, light texture of cream. It felt like her tongue — no, her whole _being_ was being enveloped in a transcendental flavor.

 _Nuts, fruit, and cream. Keep this in mind the next time you're making iced desserts, Jay._

The last stop on her list was the Lamysian hotpot restaurant. It prided itself on its modern atmosphere and fusion dishes. The interior was well-lit and the floors were a polished black marble that suggested affluence; success. Crisp white tablecloths adorned each table — Jay knew from experience that they were probably a nightmare to keep clean unless they were the very expensive hydrophobic kind. It looked like they could afford it though.

 _This looks like a really nice place._

Despite the inviting indoor options, Jay elected to sit outside when the hostess asked.

It was dusk and streetlights flickered on as she sat down. Wrought iron posts with warm orbs of light turned the still-bustling street into a moving diorama of city life. Tiny fairy lights were twined into drapes and ledges; strings of Winterstar bulbs adored the manicured branches of the trees along the pavement.

The effect was stunning. Jay knew she was better suited to the countryside than the city, but a scene like this with the whole city lighting up the dark could have fooled her.

 _It's beautiful._

Jay quietly lost herself in her thoughts, letting ambient conversations and cooking aromas waft over her.

A waitress soon arrived with a steaming bowl of noodles. It was piping hot — exactly the way it should be.

Jay offered up a polite thanks, her fingers splitting apart chopsticks in eager anticipation.

The broth was just slightly oily, with notes of pepper and ginger rising in the clouds of steam. It was adorned with a boiled egg, sliced in the shape of flowers, and a deeply aromatic sprig of basil. Imitation fish balls bobbed at the surface and a small rainbow of vegetables teased their existence behind a tangle of thick white noodles. She could make out what looked like beansprouts and jalapenos, maybe even a slice of lime hidden in the mix.

She dove in.

 _MMM. MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM._

Jay wasn't sure if she had vocalized this love aloud.

 _It's like being in Lamysia. Oh my goodness me._

The meal was delicious, not to mention the ambience. She made sure to leave a sizable tip and a thank-you note scrawled on the napkin for the chef.

It was time for her to get back on the bus.

As the bus rolled out of Alessia, Jay gave a contented sigh and contemplated sleep. Night had wrapped a warm cloak of darkness over the landscape and she could see very little of her surroundings as streetlights gave way to blackened forests.

She wasn't quite sure why, but she decided to listen to music for just a while longer and stare into the night.

Her patience was rewarded a few minutes later when the light pollution from the city subsided.

Thousands of stars twinkled like jewels embedded in a backdrop of black velvet. And, in contrast to the barely-visible white pinpricks of the city sky, Jay could make out different colours. A spot of garnet. A small splash of sapphire. A dim topaz, hazy and nebulous.

She was enraptured. The stars danced in celestial machinations, complex and empyrean. She was being treated to the clockwork of the universe, seeing silent gears grind in the grand machine. For just a moment, her eyes welled with tears that she didn't understand.

 _Beautiful_ , she mused before drifting off to sleep.

The next layover was a little less hectic — a sunny seaside stop in Orchid Town on the morning of the third day. She was tired at this point, having only slept for a few hours scattered across the days, but it was the last day, after all.

Staying at a cozy bed-and-breakfast was an option but Jay decided to make the most out of her time while there.

She wandered down cobblestone paths with blooming bushes sprouting by the wayside. The entire township seemed to be perfumed by the hundreds of flowers that burst from the earth. Houses with vibrant green lawns were nestled between topiaries and bird baths. It was overflowing with life, albeit carefully cultivated life.

 _It's almost too perfect._

The town was famous for their orchid garden. Jay knew she _had_ to at least walk through it before leaving.

… _Wow._

It was bigger than she expected. Manageable for a small team of two or three horticulturalists, but still impressive. An intricate glass pavilion encased the pièce de résistance — black orchids with golden stamen that sprung from a stone fountain. They had somehow managed to hide the base of the stem in the stonework itself. Like a page out of a fairy tale, it seemed to have an ethereal yet glamorous aura about it.

 _Colour me impressed. I don't know what you guys are doing here, but whatever it is, you're doing it right._

Her time in Orchid Town was over all too quickly, but she longed for the comfort of a bed that came with Stardew Valley.

. . . . . . . . . .

Jay had dozed off shortly after getting back on the bus.

She checked her watch, which had indented her wrist. If they were on schedule, they'd be in the valley within the hour.

Mountains of lush carpeted green rolled past. From the one window cracked open in front of her, Jay could taste air as sweet and fresh as could be imagined.

 _We're almost there. I can hardly believe it. I'm almost there again._

Jay caught sight of a wooden sign just before the bus sped past: "Welcome to Cloud Country."

. . . . . . . . . .

Author's note: sorry for disappearing for, geez, 7 months? What can I say? I'm a busy university student (and also a piece of shit who doesn't update, lol). I'll be honest: if you're expecting a consistent update schedule with this story, you will be disappointed. This story is gonna take a _looooong_ time to go places. Also, I marked this story as teen when I first started it. Probably should have put an advisory for naughty language _before_ I started, buuut…. Hindsight is 20/20! I'm currently at the point where I'm trying to decide between two options: do I want this to reflect a playthrough of Stardew Valley, where I mimic all of the dialogue and character reactions, or do I want this to become its own entity with unique interactions that are _based_ off of Stardew characters? If you have an opinion, let me know with a review. :P Also, slightly changed Chapter 4 because **damn** it was corny. Still rolling with it, but damn. So corny. See you guys when I see you.


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